Armenia aims at regional cooperation
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Turkish Daily News
By VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL
Armenian permanent representative to the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Karen Mirzoyan describes the “Ring Road” project to connect the Black Sea countries as a promising development for the region.
The BSEC consists of member countries situated in the Black Sea region and is working to unite the two rival countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Though Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, Armenian BSEC representative Mirzoyan has been serving in Turkey for the last five years in the BSEC.
Mirzoyan spoke to the Turkish Daily News this week regarding the effects of the closed Armenia-Turkey border and about cooperation between the two countries, the Armenian perspective, Armenian businessmen and BSEC studies.
Mirzoyan said the BSEC Armenia Office of Representative, which was opened in 2001 in Istanbul, has failed to perform active duties since the Turkish-Armenian border is closed. “BSEC is an unparalleled organization,” he said. To improve cooperation among neighboring countries is one of the primary aims of Armenian foreign policy, says Mirzoyan, who thinks both regional and global issues could be resolved through inter-country dialogue.
Mirzoyan said the Black Sea basin is not an area that is closed to the outside, adding, “Dialogue and cooperation are two vital elements; otherwise, problems cannot be solved,” as he voices the Armenian businessmen's modest approach to cooperation with Turkey.
We're hopeful for region's future:
As for his assessments regarding international institutions, Mirzoyan emphasizes that Armenia has a liberal economy; therefore, foreign businessmen from various countries do business in Armenia.
The European Union is interested in the region for its geographical location, according to the Armenian BSEC representative, and the BSEC plans new projects to conduct bilateral studies with the EU. It is also advantageous for BSEC member countries to become EU members in order to facilitate implementation of future projects.
The BSEC pays attention to the future of the region rather than political issues. “We include economic matters on the BSEC's agenda. We are an organization to unite not to separate,” Mirzoyan concludes.
BSEC to get stronger with ‘Ring Road' project:
BSEC countries cover an area of nearly 20 million square kilometers in the region and have a total population of 350 million people and trade volume of $300 billion. After the end of the Cold War, the organization came into existence with the initiatives of the late Turkish President Turgut Özal in 1992. In June, Turkey again will be the BSEC term president. With a summit for its 15th establishment anniversary, it is expected that the organization's activities will be accelerated.
Its first vital project to be realized is the “Ring Road,” a Black Sea beltway to interconnect regional countries. With the project, the BSEC will become a bridge to connect Europe and Asia. The Bosporus Statement was signed on June 25, 1992 in Istanbul to give birth to the BSEC, which consists of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Who is Karen Mirzoyan?:
Karen Mirzoyan was born in 1965 in Yerevan, graduated from the Armenian State University Faculty of Eastern Sciences and has held office at the Armenia Foreign Ministry since 1993. Mirzoyan was appointed as the Armenia permanent representative to the BSEC in 2005.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Turkish Daily News
By VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU
ISTANBUL
Turkey's intent to co-operate with Armenia in the economic sphere is disingenuous. On the one hand it touts the benefits of its project for cooperation and on the other hand it puts political conditions on Armenia's participation such as abandoning the genocide recognition and giving in to Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karapakh. This article shows a classical case of this policy in action.
Armenian permanent representative to the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Karen Mirzoyan said dialogue and cooperation are two vital elements in the regionArmenian permanent representative to the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Karen Mirzoyan describes the “Ring Road” project to connect the Black Sea countries as a promising development for the region.
The BSEC consists of member countries situated in the Black Sea region and is working to unite the two rival countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Though Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, Armenian BSEC representative Mirzoyan has been serving in Turkey for the last five years in the BSEC.
Mirzoyan spoke to the Turkish Daily News this week regarding the effects of the closed Armenia-Turkey border and about cooperation between the two countries, the Armenian perspective, Armenian businessmen and BSEC studies.
Mirzoyan said the BSEC Armenia Office of Representative, which was opened in 2001 in Istanbul, has failed to perform active duties since the Turkish-Armenian border is closed. “BSEC is an unparalleled organization,” he said. To improve cooperation among neighboring countries is one of the primary aims of Armenian foreign policy, says Mirzoyan, who thinks both regional and global issues could be resolved through inter-country dialogue.
Mirzoyan said the Black Sea basin is not an area that is closed to the outside, adding, “Dialogue and cooperation are two vital elements; otherwise, problems cannot be solved,” as he voices the Armenian businessmen's modest approach to cooperation with Turkey.
We're hopeful for region's future:
As for his assessments regarding international institutions, Mirzoyan emphasizes that Armenia has a liberal economy; therefore, foreign businessmen from various countries do business in Armenia.
The European Union is interested in the region for its geographical location, according to the Armenian BSEC representative, and the BSEC plans new projects to conduct bilateral studies with the EU. It is also advantageous for BSEC member countries to become EU members in order to facilitate implementation of future projects.
The BSEC pays attention to the future of the region rather than political issues. “We include economic matters on the BSEC's agenda. We are an organization to unite not to separate,” Mirzoyan concludes.
BSEC to get stronger with ‘Ring Road' project:
BSEC countries cover an area of nearly 20 million square kilometers in the region and have a total population of 350 million people and trade volume of $300 billion. After the end of the Cold War, the organization came into existence with the initiatives of the late Turkish President Turgut Özal in 1992. In June, Turkey again will be the BSEC term president. With a summit for its 15th establishment anniversary, it is expected that the organization's activities will be accelerated.
Its first vital project to be realized is the “Ring Road,” a Black Sea beltway to interconnect regional countries. With the project, the BSEC will become a bridge to connect Europe and Asia. The Bosporus Statement was signed on June 25, 1992 in Istanbul to give birth to the BSEC, which consists of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Who is Karen Mirzoyan?:
Karen Mirzoyan was born in 1965 in Yerevan, graduated from the Armenian State University Faculty of Eastern Sciences and has held office at the Armenia Foreign Ministry since 1993. Mirzoyan was appointed as the Armenia permanent representative to the BSEC in 2005.
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Labels: Dialogue Armenia-Turkey
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 4:28 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home